New Delh: Jindal Stainless Steel (Hisar) Ltd Wednesday said it will make steel for defence use under an agreement with the sate-run Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).

In a statement, the company said its high-nitrogen steel (HNS) will replace imported rolled homogenous armour (RHA) steel currently used in some weapons and combat vehicles. This will reduce the cost of acquisition of armour applications by 50%, the company said. The company said the licence agreement signed with DRDO also entails technology transfer.

Jindal Stainless (Hisar) shares rose 4.19% to close at Rs119.40 on the BSE on Wednesday, while the benchmark Sensex closed 0.84% higher at 28,984.49 points.

HNS can be used in missiles, military vehicles, main battle tank and various other aviation and naval systems, the company said.

“We look forward to collaborate with ministry of defence to achieve greater efficacy of Indian armed forces and then take forward our capabilities,” Abhyuday Jindal, vice chairman, Jindal Stainless Steel (Hisar) Ltd said. “We are looking at production of 15,000 to 20,000 tonnes of HNS per annum initially which will be increased gradually. It will be going to be priced 30-40% cheaper than the imported material,” he added.